An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World W ar II

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Overview

THE NEW YORK TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

December, 1943: A badly damaged American bomber struggles to fly over wartime Germany. At the controls is twenty-one-year-old Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown. Half his crew lay wounded or dead on this, their first mission. Suddenly, a Messerschmitt fighter pulls up on the bomber’s tail. The pilot is German ace Franz Stigler—and he can destroy the young American crew with the squeeze of a trigger…

What happened next would defy imagination and later be called “the most incredible encounter between enemies in World War II.”

The U.S. 8th Air Force would later classify what happened between them as “top secret.” It was an act that Franz could never mention for fear of facing a firing squad. It was the encounter that would haunt both Charlie and Franz for forty years until, as old men, they would search the world for each other, a last mission that could change their lives forever.

INCLUDES PHOTOS

Praise

“From the horrors of the most savage war in history emerges this beautiful story of a brotherhood between enemies. Simply told, splendid and well worth the read.”—Joe Galloway, coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller We Were Soldiers Once…and Young

“This book grips you like a movie. It’s part Top Gun, part Valkyrie, and more!”—Marcus Brotherton, author of the New York Times bestseller We Who Are Alive and Remain

“It is often said that ‘war is hell’—and it is—however, this story reveals how the human spirit can shine in the darkest hours. A Higher Call is an eye-opener.”—Colonel Charles McGee, Tuskegee Airman, WWII

“Can good men be found on both sides of a bad war?’ The author asks the question and delivers the answer. A powerful, haunting read.”—Chuck Tatum, author of Red Blood, Black Sand